Jumbo-Visma and Remco Evenepoel demand rivals slow for safety reasons as crash chaos hits Vuelta a España again

The riders at the Vuelta a España will be glad to see the back of Barcelona. Two rain-sodden stages, overshadowed by crashes, risk and more than a touch of talk about rider safety have opened the final Grand Tour of the season, the second stage seeing Jumbo-Visma, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel saying enough is enough and slowing the peloton after a crash by Primož Roglič.

The Slovenian's teammates Dylan van Baarle and Vingegaard, as well as Evenepoel — who was outspoken about the "ridiculous" conditions last night's team time trial was contested in, and who began the day joking about "another day in paradise" — came to the front of the peloton, raised their arms and called on the Movistar rider on the front to slow.

🧘 ¡@JumboVismaRoad pide calma!

🐝 🇳🇱 Dylan van Baarle and 🇩🇰 Jonas Vingegaard making attempts to slow the peloton down#LaVuelta23 pic.twitter.com/8CJniOzx6t

— La Vuelta (@lavuelta) August 27, 2023

The call came after a UAE Team Emirates rider, an Ineos Grenadiers rider, and Roglič had crashed at a roundabout moments earlier, the Dutch team seemingly unhappy at the pace being set ahead of future roundabouts.

The conditions are now worsening out there for the riders 😬

A crash at the roundabout involving riders from UAE Team Emirates, Jumbo-Visma and Ineos Grenadiers 😤#LAVuelta23 pic.twitter.com/8Lx5AnHDB7

— Eurosport (@eurosport) August 27, 2023

The race organisers had made the pre-stage decision to bring the point at which the GC was taken forward to the 9km to go mark, ahead of the final climb and descent, hoping to mitigate the risk for anyone not wishing to contest the stage victory.

> More safety concerns as Vuelta a España pros left to ride through Barcelona in dark after "ridiculous" opening stage

However, there were always going to be crashes racing on wet urban roads rained on for the first time in weeks, dsm firmenich suffering a rude awakening from their dream start to the Vuelta, Oscar Onley crashing out with a suspected broken collarbone and red jersey Lorenzo Milesi dropping out of the lead group after another crash.

"It was pretty slippy roads and they were trying to take the initiative to calm the bunch down," second-placed finisher on the stage Kaden Groves said, before admitting there were contrasting opinions in the bunch.

He continued: "It was a little bit awkward with ourselves and dsm trying to close the breakaway... today's a chance for us and that's why we had to race. They understand as well. We're not here on GC, we're a sprint team, sometimes crashes happen and we're willing to take that risk when there's a chance."

Ultimately, it was another day where the main talking points came away from the results list, however Andreas Kron of Lotto Dstny secured an emotional victory for his team in the week when U23 Paris-Roubaix winner Tijl De Decker died after a collision involving a motorist during a training ride. 

Kron pointed to the sky as he crossed the finish line, a win dedicated to his teammate. As the breakaway was still clear of the peloton at the 9km to go mark, where the timing was taken, EF Education-EasyPost's Andrea Piccolo will wear the red jersey tomorrow as the race heads north to Andorra with the promise of some sunshine.

“A SUPER JOB!” ⭐️

Andreas Kron wins stage 2 of La Vuelta and secures the biggest victory of his career 👏#LAVuelta23 | @andreaskron98 | @lotto_dstny pic.twitter.com/ZAYJ7YpAIL

— Eurosport (@eurosport) August 27, 2023